


Helpless

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Series: The World Needs More Mac and Riley [3]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Mac Whump, Mac and Riley, Riley just wants to help her family, Team as Family, Whump, mac doesn't deserve any of this, riley is anything but helpless, sometimes she just has to be reminded of that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 05:13:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13241157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: Riley oversees a mission from back at the Phoenix Foundation. When things go wrong, she finds herself unable to do anything except watch as Mac gets hurt and Jack and Cage race to rescue him.





	Helpless

“I should be in there with you, watching your back.” Riley heard Jack grumble over the comms

“You,” Mac’s voice was a whisper “have proven time and time again that you can’t be stealthy. And this is a stealth mission.” Riley and Matty watched as Mac climbed the last flight of stairs.

The mission was to break into some rich mob boss’s house and steal his financial ledger. A mole that the FBI had placed in the mob had given them the information. The mob boss was at a fancy party with all of his security. He had a state of the art security system and was too cocky to pay for additional guards. That being said, Matty had still decided that it was better if just Mac entered the house, leaving Cage and Jack outside to watch the perimeter. The security system was not nearly as good as the mob boss thought it was, so it took Riley very little effort to hack in, disable the motion sensors and door alarm, and put the cameras on a loop. 

“God, this house is huge,” Mac said with a huff as he turned down yet another hallway and began searching the rooms.

“Why do the bad guys always get the good stuff?” Riley said and felt a bit of satisfaction when she saw Mac smile.

“Because they lie and cheat and steal Riley,” Jack said

“Jack, stop pouting,” Cage’s accented voice came over the comms

“I’m not pouting, I just don’t know why we have to be stuck out here watching an empty street.”

“Because every time you and Mac break in somewhere you get caught.”

“Hey, it’s not always my fault, sometimes Mac-”

“Enough, can we please keep the comms open for MacGyver.” Matty interrupted Cage and Jack’s bickering. They fell silent and Riley watched as Mac entered a room like looked like a study. He started moving things and fiddling with objects trying to find the safe where the ledger was located. He moved a small statue on the desk and a section of wall behind him started opening.

“Got it,” Mac announced unnecessarily. But the panel didn’t slide back to reveal a safe, instead, it slid back to reveal a small room filled with monitors. There were two men inside and their expressions shifted from bored to surprise when they caught sight of Mac. One of the men jumped up and headed for him while the other started typing. “Riley, shut it down,” Mac said even as Riley began typing as fast as she could. She knew they couldn’t let the man get out a distress call.

“Cage, Jack, get in there, Mac needs help,” Matty ordered. Riley tried to ignore the sounds of Mac fighting as she worked on shutting down their system.

“Riley-” Mac cut off with a gasp when he was punched in the stomach

“Almost…” Riley bit her lip as she kept typing, “Got it.” She hit enter “I don’t think the distress message went...crap.” Riley watched in horror as all of their video feeds   
went black.

“Riley, what’s happening?” Matty demanded

“I shut off their whole system, that includes the cameras.” Riley started typing again, “I think I can bring back just the cameras”

“Riley, get those cameras back up,” Jack said, sounding out of breath. Riley knew that he was probably running full speed.

“Jack watch out!” Cage yelled. Riley tried to ignore the sounds of gunshots and fighting and she continued to type, but it was difficult. The mission had gone bad so quickly and she was having trouble catching up.

“Mac, Jack, Cage, what is happening?” Matty practically shouted, but none of them answered. “Riley I need my eyes.”

“Working on it.” Riley bit out and forced her hands to move even quicker. She had to figure out how to turn back on the cameras while only giving herself access. And   
the silence from the other end of the comms wasn’t helping her focus.

“Matty, we got bad intel.” Cage’s voice finally rang out. “Jack and I are pinned down by at least 5 men. Even if they got a distress call out, there is no way they got here that soon. They were already here.”

“It’s going to take us a bit to get to Mac,” Jack said, frustration clear in his voice. “How’s our boy doing anyways?”

“He’s not responding to comms and we don’t have a visual yet,” Matty said. Riley tried not to think about the two bigger guys that Mac had been up against.

“There,” Riley said with a sigh as she brought the cameras back up. Any relief that she felt from accomplishing that task disappeared when she saw the images in the camera. Mac was tied in a chair with his head slumped against his chest. His chest was rising and falling, so she knew that he was still alive, but Riley couldn’t tell if he was conscious or not. She could see blood in his hair and covering his shirt. “Oh my god” she whispered, horror rising in her as she watched the two men talking and gesturing at Mac. 

“Jack, get to Mac now,” Matty instructed. Her voice was strong, but when Riley looked over at her, she could see the fear in the older woman’s eyes. Riley didn’t know what to do, she didn’t know how to help Mac or help Jack and Cage get to Mac. She felt useless. It was like watching a movie when you know the main character is about to do something stupid. You shout at the TV, but it doesn’t change the ending.

“You got it.” Jack took something out of his pocket, and Riley was surprised to see that it was a hand grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it across the room.

“Jack, Cage, there is a staircase to your left. Mac’s on the third floor.” Riley said, glad to be able to provide information to help. Jack and Cage took off running before the grenade exploded. Riley saw the mobsters start running away when they realized what had been thrown at them. Riley felt a bit of satisfaction seeing that they didn’t all make it in time. Normally, she hated when people had to die on missions, even the bad guys, but right now those people were standing between Mac and his rescuers.

“What are we walking into?” Jack asked as they sprinted up the stairs.

“Mac’s being held by two men. They have him tied to a chair, I don’t know how hurt he is, but it looks bad. I think they are currently arguing about what to do with him.” Matty answered. Riley watched as Jack and Cage reached the third floor.

“Turn left down the next hallway, but watch out, there are two guys heading your way.” The familiarity of guiding her team through somewhere relaxed Riley slightly. They could do this, they had done this countless times before. Jack and Cage easily took out the two men. “It’s the next door on the right,” Riley said, watching as Jack immediately kicked in the door. The two men stopped talking and pointed their guns at Jack and Cage, who already had their guns pointed at the men.

“Mac, you alright there buddy?” Jack called, not taking his eyes off the men. MacGyver didn’t so much as stir at Jack’s call. “Just give us the kid, and we can all go home happy,” Jack said

“I don’t think so,” One of the men said, he swung his arm to point at Mac. “I think maybe I’ll just shoot him, we take robbery very seriously.” Riley watched in horror as the man moved closer to Mac. He grabbed Mac’s hair and yanked his head up, touching his gun to his now exposed throat.

“No!” Riley shouted even though she couldn’t do anything. Jack and Cage made noises of distress but didn’t move, knowing that might get Mac killed. Now that Mac’s face was up, Riley could see how much blood was covering it. It was hard to see what his actual injuries were through all of the blood. Riley felt helpless as she watched the situation play out.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jack said, taking a small step to the side. “That kid there is like family to me and if you hurt him any more I’m going to get angry. And a wise man once said ‘you won’t like me when I’m angry’” Jack said, taking another step to the side. Riley was about to ask what he was doing when she noticed Cage. By pointing his gun at Mac, the man had taken it off of Cage and for the moment both men appeared to have forgotten about her as they put their attention on Jack.

“Whatever you guys are doing, you have to do it fast,” Matty spoke up and Riley saw that she was looking at a camera that showed several men climbing the stairs. At Matty’s words, the room exploded into movement. Cage tackled the man who was pointing his gun at Jack. The other man turned to look at her in surprise and when he did, Jack shot him. Jack was running over to Mac before the man had hit the ground. He tried to rouse the young agent by shouting his name and patting his cheek, but once again, Mac didn’t move. Cage knocked out the man she was fighting and ran over to join them. She put her finger to Mac’s neck to feel his pulse.

“His pulse is weak but steady.”

“He’s not waking up, I’m going to have to carry him,” Jack said with a frustrated sigh.

“He’s not that heavy Jack,” Riley said, not understanding what the problem was.

“I can’t fight and carry him at the same time,” Jack said as he and Cage worked to untie Mac.

“There are only four guys left in the house,” Matty responded. “The rest of the backup won’t be there for five more minutes. If you take them out you should be fine.”

“Where are they now?” Jack asked as he lifted Mac off the chair and laid him gently on the ground.

“Down the hall,” Riley said

“We can’t let them get into here. It’s too risky with Mac,” Cage said.

“Then let’s go meet them out there,” Jack loaded his gun and straightened up. Cage put her hand on Mac’s cheek and looked at him. After a few seconds, she shifted him so he was on his side and also stood up. She wiped her now bloody hands on her pants.

“We’ve better hurry, Mac doesn’t look too good.”

“Then let’s do it,” Jack said impatiently. Riley didn’t watch as the two headed out and started shooting down the mobsters. She kept her gaze on Mac, watching the rise and fall of his chest carefully. She found herself breathing with him, exhaling the air she had been holding in every time he did.

“He’ll be okay Riley,” Matty said, cluing into what Riley was doing. Riley merely nodded, not taking her eyes off of Mac. She wished more than anything that she had gone on this mission with them. She wouldn’t be much help against the bad guys, but at least she could’ve stayed with Mac and made sure he was safe.

Riley let out a sigh of relief when Jack came back into her field of vision. Cage helped him lift Mac onto his shoulders. The two made their way as quickly as they could out of the huge mansion. 

“Medical is waiting for you at the exfil coordinates. You guys are close enough that they will bring Mac back to the Phoenix medical center.” Matty said. Riley kept switching the cameras to keep them in view as long as possible. She saw Cage climb into the back seat and Jack gently place Mac back there with her. Then the car sped away and Riley had to rely only on comms.

“He’s lost a lot of blood. I think most of it is coming from this wound on his head.” Cage said

“Jack, I think this is the time when Mac would normally tell you to drive faster,” Riley said. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that she knew wasn’t going to go away until Mac was back at Phoenix, safe and awake.

“Already doing that Riles.” Jack’s voice was terse but she knew the tone wasn't directed at her, it was just a result of the situation. After ten incredibly tense minutes, Jack finally said, “We’re here.”

“Come on home,” Matty said and then turned to Riley. “You should probably let Bozer know what happened.” Riley nodded and headed down to the lab, not really looking forward to the conversation she was about to have.

*****

“Hey,” Mac said as she walked in, “I was wondering when you were going to make an appearance. Everyone else has been cycling through for hours.”

“I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Riley said as she sat next to his bed and got a good look at him. His face was covered in bruises and cuts and he was pale. Riley knew that he had a concussion, broken ribs, and had lost a fair amount of blood. Despite all of that, Mac was looking at her with bright eyes and a smile.

“So how about that super secret, undetectable surveillance room,” Mac said, breaking the silence.

“I can’t believe that I didn’t know it was there,” Riley said, some of her frustration spilling out. After they were told that Mac would be fine, he just needed to rest, Riley had gone back and studied the blueprints as well as the satellite imagery of the house. There was nothing to indicate the presence of that room, but it still frustrated her that they hadn’t known about it.

“Like I said, super secret.” Mac’s tone was light, but he was studying her closely. “You okay Riles?” Concern crept into his voice. Seeing an injured Mac worry about her almost made her break down completely. She leaned forward with a sigh and took his hand.

“I was just worried about you.” She said, not meeting his eyes.

“Riley,” Mac said in a chiding manner. She looked up and saw that he was wearing a skeptical expression. “It’s not that I’m touched you were worried about me...I just don’t think that’s the whole story.”

“I couldn’t do anything to stop it,” Riley said finally, she stood up and started to pull her hand out of Mac’s, but he tightened his hold.

“Stop what?” He coaxed gently.

“Everything” Riley gave another sigh and sat down. “I was completely useless, stuck behind a screen that didn’t do anything. All I could do was stand there and watch you get hurt and Jack and Cage try to rescue you.” Riley spoke the truth because she knew there was no hiding it from Mac, he would either figure it out himself or get it out of her eventually.

“You felt helpless,” Mac said softly and Riley just nodded. “You know, I felt that way too when I first joined DXS.”

“You did? Why?” Riley had a hard time imagining Mac as helpless. He was always the one they could count on to figure out how to get out of any situation.

“I couldn’t fight, I didn’t use a gun, the guys were always bigger than me, and I managed to get myself into a lot of situations where I couldn’t do anything except rely on Jack to get me out,” Mac said with a shrug. “I didn’t mind having someone to watch my back, but I hated to rely on it.”

“So what did you do?”

“I asked Jack to train me in hand-to-hand, and…” Mac paused and looked at her, checking to make sure she was listening. “I learned to be okay with the things I couldn’t do. I was never going to be as good at fighting and getting punched as Jack, but that was okay. Each one of us has a different set of skills, that’s why we need each other. I can’t fight like Jack, or hack like you, or get information out of someone like Cage, or make kick-ass disguises like Boze, or order around people above my pay grade like Matty. But I could use my skills to get us out of tight spots and help to save lives. We couldn’t do what we do without you Riley. You help us save lives every day.” Mac squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to do everything.”

“Thanks, Mac,” Riley wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but he’d said everything she needed to hear. She had been feeling useless and helpless, and Mac convinced her that she wouldn’t always feel that way. Riley stood up and gently took her hand away, and this time Mac let her.

“Are you leaving?” He asked with a disappointed look.

“Yes, you need to get some sleep.” She hadn’t missed how he’d looked progressively sleepier as the conversation went on. “And I am going to ask Jack if he’ll continue the training Thornton was giving me.” Mac smiled at that.

“That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah, well it was your idea,” Riley said, she gently brushed a piece of hair off of his forehead.

“Ah, so of course it was good,” Mac said with half-closed eyes.

“Get some rest,” Riley said and headed towards the door. When she received no response, she turned to find Mac already asleep. Smiling to herself, she went off to find Jack.


End file.
